Consider the Playing Field Levelled
by leafsfan
Summary: Rory returns to Yale and rekindles her friendship with Marty. With Logan out of the picture romantically and her mother's wedding to Luke looming on the horizon, Rory's feelings begin to change. RoryMarty.
1. Chapter 1

Consider the Playing Field Levelled

Disclaimer: All characters belong to the WB.

Author's Note: Okay, this story requires a bit of an explanation. I started writing this after the episode where Rory decides she's going back to Yale. I'm posting it now mainly because I know the actual storyline of the show will probably go in a different direction. But I digress…

Rory Gilmore was back at Yale. She knew it had been a mistake to leave in the first place. Where else did she get this feeling of completeness, other than at home in Stars Hollow? There hadn't been room in residence, due to her late return, but Paris had seemingly read her mind and had kept a room for her in the townhouse she shared with Doyle. The room was small, but it didn't matter. She had room for her books, a desk and a twin bed, which was all she needed. Doyle and Paris shared a room down the hall, which had an adjoining bathroom.

"Hey." Paris stood in her doorway, glancing around the room. "You got settled pretty quickly."

"Yeah, I guess. I've still got another load of clothes to grab from home." Rory replied. She was sitting on her bed, putting some books into her bag.

"I want you to work at the paper." Paris blurted out, making Rory stop what she was doing and look up. "I know you have a job already, but I need you. Everyone else is just there to chit-chat and get free coffee! I can't stand it! There has been a serious decline in journalistic integrity, Gilmore, I can tell you that much. Someone wrote an article about being able to wear pajamas to class. I told him to write about the professor who's being investigated for sexual harassment." She let out a frustrated shriek, and Doyle appeared behind her.

"Paris. Let it go."

She rounded on him and they retreated into the hall to continue their argument. Rory rolled her eyes, and then went to her closet to get ready for class.

The townhouse was a five minute drive from campus, but Rory decided to walk, wanting to fully appreciate the campus after being away for so long. It was sunny, and the glare off the surface of the snow made her squint as she winded her way through the snowbanks piled on the edges of the sidewalk.

Her first class was uneventful, as was her second, although her professor had the unfortunate habit of trying to use technology he clearly didn't understand. Luckily, she had free time before her last class of the day and she decided to spend it in the quad outside the library, choosing a bench before pulling out one of her textbooks.

She was just finishing up a paragraph when a voice broke through her thoughts. She raised her eyes and squinted up into the sunlight at the person in front of her.

"Rory?"

"Marty!" She grinned widely before jumping up and hugging him. He returned it awkwardly before gesturing towards the bench.

"Can I?"

"Yeah, definitely!" She moved her bag and he sat down beside her, angled slightly towards her. "So how are you?"

"Uh, I'm good. I'm actually volunteering at a hospital this year, so… yeah." He trailed off, then recovered and asked, "How are you? I was kind of wondering how you were… I heard rumours." He averted his eyes, staring at his shoes instead.

She laughed. "Yeah… I had a bit of a… break, I guess."

"So you did leave Yale?" He asked, his eyes on her again. She nodded. "And the boat?"

"Boat?"

"Yeah, I heard you stole a boat. But I figured…" He stopped when he saw her blush and raised her eyebrows in confirmation. "Uh… ok, what? You stole a BOAT?"

She laughed and told him about getting arrested, and working off the community hours.

"But I'm back at Yale. I got lost a bit, but I'm back." He grinned and she smiled in return.

"Well good. I'm glad."

She took a moment to study him. They hadn't really spent a lot of time together after he admitted that he liked her, and she had spent a lot of time wishing things had been different. He looked exactly the same; the same brown curly hair, the same deep brown eyes, the same smile. Before Logan had come along, Rory had spent fleeting moments wondering if she wanted more than friendship with Marty. Now that she and Logan were broken up, her thoughts turned that way once again.

"So, are you living with Paris now?" He broke the comfortable silence. She nodded. "That must be fun."

"Believe me, it's infinitely better than where I was living last semester." He looked confused, so she elaborated. "I was living in my grandparents' poolhouse. Needless to say, I now know why my mother ran away when she was sixteen."

"And…" He paused, and looked away. "Are you still dating Logan Huntzberger?"

"No, we broke up."

"Good." He must have realised how that sounded, and stammered. "I mean, not that you broke up, it's just, I saw him with a blonde girl last week and they were being more than friendly, if you know what I mean." He met her eyes again. "I'm sorry though."

She shrugged. "I'm not."


	2. Chapter 2

Consider the Playing Field Levelled

Disclaimer: see chapter one.

* * *

He came over that weekend, wondering if she wanted to go to a party on campus. She accepted and they walked over together. It was in a residence, similar to that of her first year, and all the rooms were open. Music was playing loudly and someone had managed to get a keg up to the third floor.

She saw a few familiar faces in one of the rooms and went in to say hello. Marty went to get drinks for them and disappeared up the stairs.

"So you must be rebounding pretty hard from your break-up with Logan." One of the girls asked her.

"I'm sorry?" Rory replied, wondering how this girl knew that she and Logan had even been dating, let alone broken up. She had spoken to the girl once, and it had been a fleeting complaint about finals two years ago.

"I heard Logan is dating Eve Williams now. Her family is loaded." One of the other girls broke into the conversation.

"Hey." Rory turned and practically threw herself at Marty in relief. He handed her a cup and they retreated in the hallway, which was less crowded. "You looked like you needed a reprieve from the gossip." He smiled before taking a gulp from his cup.

"Yeah."

They walked slowly towards the stairs, and then sat down.

"Hey, I've been wondering… why didn't we hang out more last year?"

He looked at her quizzically. "We did hang out last year. A lot, if I remember correctly."

"Well, yeah, but by the end…" She trailed off, watching him avert his eyes uncomfortably.

"Rory?" A voice called out from the end of the hallway. Both Marty and Rory looked up. Logan, Colin, Finn and two clearly intoxicated girls were heading towards them. "You're back at Yale? That's great, Ace." Logan eyed Marty for a moment before saying, "Mark, right?"

"Marty, actually." Rory could tell Marty was tense. She put her hand on his arm and said,

"It's getting a little crazy here, let's go." He reluctantly stopped glaring at Logan, who had his arm around one of the intoxicated girls, and got up from the stairs.

"Yeah. Let's go." She smiled when he offered her a hand up from her seat and she gratefully took it.

"Goodbye Logan… Colin, Finn. See you around." She grasped Marty's arm as they walked away.

"Rory, wait." Logan called out. They stopped as he caught up with them. "We need to talk… about that night."

"Logan, there's nothing to talk about. You were a jerk to one of my oldest friends, and you were drunk." Rory explained calmly.

"Maybe I should..." Marty made a gesture that he should leave. "I'll leave you two alone." He walked away, hunching his shoulders against the cold.

"No! Marty…" Rory threw an exasperated glance at Logan before rushing after him. She caught up with him just as he reached the entrance to the quad. "Hey, you're quick." She let out an awkward laugh. "Why'd you take off like that?" He stopped and turned to look at her.

"I just figured it was none of my business." He shrugged slightly. "We can go back to the party if you want." She looked back towards the building and watched as a girl stumbled into the quad nearby and threw up in a bush. Marty followed her gaze and laughed slightly. "Or not. Come on, let's go get coffee." He offered her his arm and she took it gratefully.

"My favourite words!"

* * *

"Ugh, I forgot how awful the coffee from the cafeteria has become." Paris griped as they entered the newspaper office. "It's like they've brewed it with garbage water. Disgusting." She chucked the cup into the nearest trash bin. "Okay Gilmore, here's your desk. Keep it clean, no personal business on the computer or on the phone, bathroom visits are limited to two a day… any questions?" Rory shot Paris a look that clearly conveyed a 'you've gone completely insane' message.

"I'm sorry, is this the Yale Daily News or a Russian Gulag?"

"I run a tight ship, Rory. If you've got a problem with that, there's the door."

"Paris, you practically begged me to be on staff!"

"You're a good writer, but I'll take Features away if you complain too much." Rory perked up.

"Features?" She let a smile grace her features. "Thanks Paris!" Her friend gave a reluctant grin in return before heading to her desk to yell at one of the newer faces.

Rory sat down at her desk and turned on the computer, smiling happily. Her assignment was lying on the keyboard. She disregarded it for the moment, tossing it beside her empty coffee cup, and opened her e-mail instead. She was just finishing an email from her mother when the door to the newspaper office opened with a bang and Logan strode in, plopping himself into the chair in front of his desk. Seconds later, an instant message popped up on her screen.

_LH: Sorry about the other night, Ace. I'll make it up to you._

She rolled her eyes, but replied anyway.

_RG: No thanks_.

_LH: The cold shoulder doesn't work on me, Gilmore. It only makes things more interesting._

She saw him flash a grin in her direction, and she gave him a distasteful look in reply.

_RG: Logan, I really don't care what you do with your time here, but I have work to do._

She clicked off instant messenger and looked at her assignment.

"Why are you ignoring me, Ace?" Logan whispered, leaning on her desk. She looked up at him and sighed.

"I'm not ignoring you."

"So are you dating bartender boy?"

"His name is Marty and that is none of your business." She replied, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair.

"That's a no." He grinned. "So let's go for coffee. My treat."

"No, Logan." His face fell for a second, before he laughed.

"Alright, I get it. Hard to get. I have to prove myself before I get a second chance." He stood up and walked back to his desk.

Rory rolled her eyes and grimaced slightly. There was no way in hell he was getting a second chance.

* * *

"Rory!" She turned when she heard her name being called. The street was packed with students just let out from class, so she had to jump and look over people's heads to catch a glimpse of the person. A hand grabbed her shoulder and she jumped in fright.

"Whoops, sorry." She caught her breath and looked up into Marty's face. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"Jesus, Marty." She laughed. "What's up?"

"Just got out of class. How about you?" They walked to the crosswalk and waited for the light to change.

"Same. Are you done for the day?" He nodded. "Me too."

"Really? Great. Uh… did you want to go for coffee or something?" He asked, not quite meeting her eyes, afraid of the rejection he might see.

"Ah, you know my weakness too well."

"That I do. Come on, there's a place just around the corner." They walked along for a little while and came upon a café. Rory had, surprisingly, never been in it before and was delighted with its rich décor and seemingly stocked bookshelves. Seeing her grin, Marty whispered, "Yeah, this place is a bit of a find. Half-library, half-caffeine addicts' paradise." Leaving her to look over the books, he went to the counter and ordered two usuals. She turned and looked at him quizzically.

"Usuals?"

"You'll like it." He grinned. They sat down in a corner at a table with two cushy armchairs, and the waitress arrived a few moments later. "Try it!" Marty laughed when Rory just sceptically gazed at the whipped cream on top of the mug.

Shrugging, she lifted the mug to her lips and took a gulp.

"Oh. My God." She finally managed to practically moan. She closed her eyes as she took another sip, trying to figure out what was in the drink. "Marty, this is so good. What is it?" She was met with silence, so she opened her eyes to see him smirking at her. "Come on! Please tell me?"

"No way." He sipped from his mug, then quipped, "You have whipped cream on your upper lip, by the way." Then he grinned.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the complete lack of updating. I also have no idea how long this story will be, but from the amount of pages I have right now, it's going to be long rather than short. Again, it doesn't follow the show's storyline now, and Marty might be a little out of character, but I frankly think/hope he would act more mature if his character was in the show again. Thanks for all the chapter one reviews! 


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